Hotseat: Darrin Pufall

Avenue Q’s puppet master lives the plush life.

A Portland theater company is tackling Avenue Q, the raunchy, Sesame Street-inspired
musical about existential twentysomethings. The show’s popularity
promises high expectations for Triangle Productions, but the real
challenge is the show’s signature: puppets, a novelty to most theater
performers. The puppets were supplied by designer and former Portland
resident Darrin Pufall, now a professor of costume design at Boise State
University. Pufall first made the puppets for the 2010 regional
premiere of the play in Forestburgh, N.Y.

The Portland show will be the puppets’ fourth. Pufall told WW what it’s like to see Avenue Q over and over.

WW: Does it ever suck to be you?

Darrin Pufall: Absolutely not. I find joy in all of my
projects and all of my life. I think everyone should find joy in what
they do.

How did you go about designing the puppets? The script doesn’t dictate exactly what they should look like.

My designs definitely reflect the original Broadway
designs, but they are not replicas of them. I wanted the audience to
recognize these characters from Broadway productions but know that this
is a new spin on them.

I noticed Kate Monster looks very different.

I felt that the Broadway Kate Monster didn’t look much
like a monster, so I gave her a little bit fluffier fur and made it
green instead of brown. I wanted her to look more monsterlike.

Which puppet is your favorite?

I really like Rod. I think he has a lot
of personality that reflects who we all are. We all have insecurities in
our life, so I think he’s great.

Most of these actors are singers and dancers but have never worked with puppets. How is that different for them?

They really have to keep in mind that the puppet is the focus, and because in Avenue Q
you see the performers right alongside the puppets, it’s important that
the performers project all of their energy to the puppet so that you
see more and more of the puppet and less and less of the performer.

What’s so hard about using a puppet?

Stamina. The repetitive motion of your hand. You’re in a
six-hour rehearsal doing it over and over again. There’s an exhaustion
that happens with the performers.

How will we know Triangle got it right?

You’ll just know. If you’re enjoying the show with a smile on your face, you’re loving it.